


Fishes Give Stitches... or something like that.

by ConstantConfuse



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Caretaking, Gen, Major Character Injury, Near Death Experiences, Pneumonia, Sickfic, Whump, broken ribs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-13 21:12:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13579047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConstantConfuse/pseuds/ConstantConfuse
Summary: When an early morning fishing trip turns almost lethal, Gladio is left in pretty rough shape. But, when things are looking better, he develops some complications that give the Chocobros quite the scare. Between ornery Garulas and bloodthirsty daemons, they'll have to make it back to Lestallum to get him the attention he needs.This is my solution to the lack of Gladio whump. There wasn't enough, so I made MORE.





	Fishes Give Stitches... or something like that.

**Author's Note:**

> hey hi hello i've been working on this on and off since last may im getting pretty close to finishing it i hope??? so here's the first part!! I'm sorry that some parts are probably Absolutely Completely Awful Bad but i literally couldn't look at them any more so!! here we are!
> 
> i hope this is only two parts hhh
> 
> ENJOY~~

It was a misty morning in Cleigne. The wan rays of early light fought to pierce through the dense fog to two men walking along a secluded path, weighted down with rods and tackle boxes. The duo picked their way carefully through the underbrush on the nearly hidden trail beneath their feet as they wandered closer to their destination.

 

“There she is, Noct. This is the spot I was tellin’ you about when we set up camp.” Gladiolus stopped to gesture with the tackle box. They were on a slight rise just before they hit the fishing spot; a small, murky pond that was probably deeper than it looked,tucked away in a forested grotto. Admittedly, all Gladio could see from their position was the dock but he’d gotten a good look when they were hunting for a haven the previous night.

 

“Wow. I wonder what kind of fish are here…! With how secluded this place is, there’s gotta be some veritable monsters in this thing.” Noctis’ eyes were sparkling, that much Gladio could see. There was very little that Noctis would get up early for, but fishing? He’d beat the sun for that.

 

“Well, Your Highness?” he gestured to the dock with a grin, “After you.”

 

Noct started down the incline towards the dock with a kick to his step, “Looks like it’s big enough for both of us to set up. Gladio, what side do you want?”

 

The two men bantered back and forth in their usual manner as they settled in to spend the morning fishing. Noctis, of course, claimed what he considered to be the best side, and Gladio let him have it with a roll of his eyes. He didn't care what side of the dock he fished off of, he just wanted to bring back something big for breakfast. Ignis had promised the previous night to treat them to something that sounded fantastic if they did just that. 

 

The sun crept ever higher over the horizon as the minutes passed in comfortable silence; the two had already caught a few fish, but they had thrown them back in hopes of a better catch. The fog still settled heavily around them, unphased by the light. Gladio looked around them, squinting, “Kinda weird how the fog’s not goin’ anywhere.”

 

“Who cares?” The prince grunted as he recast his line out into the murky water, “‘sides it's probably because of the trees. The light just hasn't hit the fog yet.”

 

Gladio looked behind him and quirked an eyebrow, “Sounds like a load of bullshit.”

 

Noctis just shrugged. He didn't know how this kind of stuff worked, and frankly he didn't care, “Maybe it's some kinda magic, and this is an enchanted pond,” he adjusted his grip on his rod so he could sit on the dock, one leg underneath him and one dangling just above the water’s surface, “And little did we know, we've been fishing up the guardians and now we're cursed…” he shrugged again, “Or something like that.”

 

There was a solid second of silence before the both of them erupted into laughter. Gladio howled, gripping the post next to him for support, “What the hell?! Where'd that come from?”

 

Noctis was dissolved into giggles, holding himself around the middle, “I-I don't know, but  _ wow _ . I think Prompto’s rubbing off on me!” he managed to catch his breath after a bit more giggling, “Seriously though, I wouldn't worry about the fog. Maybe it's just a weird phenomenon that we're getting to experience first hand. Let's just focus on the fish.”

 

Gladiolus chuckled a bit, “Yeah yeah, Your Majesty, don't wanna scare ‘em off, got it.”

 

Despite his best efforts to focus on fishing, the unease from the still remaining fog ate at him. He sat hunched over, nerves on end. He was no longer focused on his tackle in the water, but on their surroundings; something didn't feel right, and Gladio just couldn't place it. He came to a conclusion: they needed to leave.

 

He opened his mouth to say as much, “Hey, Noct--” But he was interrupted by a loud groan of frustration from the younger man.

 

“What the hell is this? Nothing’s biting now!” he leaned back on his free arm. His face was furrowed into a cloud of irritation when he looked at Gladio, “This is your fault. Your crazy loud laugh scared off the fish.”

 

Gladiolus stared at the Lucian prince before sputtering, defensively, “What?! I sure as hell did not! Besides, it's probably for the best,” he glanced up to the sky, “Can't see shit through this fog but I'm  _ pretty _ sure we need to head back to camp. Iggy’s probably waitin’ on us.”

 

Noctis gave Gladio a look that could only be described as a pout, “But we haven't caught anything decent yet! Just a little bit longer, the fish will be back any minute now, I know it.”

 

“Noct, come  _ on _ ,” the shield ran his hand through his hair, “You sound like a damned toddler. Let's call this a wash and get the hell out of here. This fog ain't natural, I don't care what you say.” He stood from his seated position and started packing up his things before turning to Noctis’ box. A hand on the lid stopped him, “Noct, I'm serious. We're leaving.”

 

“Then you go. I'll catch up in thirty minutes,” he had recast his line in a slightly different position with a new lure, “I'll be fine, I'm just going to catch one fish. I'll be right behind you.”

 

Gladio knew this routine. He also knew there would be no convincing Noct otherwise, but still.

 

“Fine. But I'm waiting on the path, and if you're not up there in thirty minutes, I'm hauling you back to camp whether you caught a damned fish or not!” he scooped up his own gear and stomped off the dock. For good measure he turned and yelled, “Thirty minutes!” Noct just waved and adjusted his line.

 

Gladio stalked up the slope to the crest of the path. He slumped against a tree with the gear tossed next to him, grumbling angrily. In seconds he had his phone out, first to set an alarm, then to send a heated text message to Ignis… but he had no cell signal, so the text would have to wait. He impatiently tapped his foot, straining to hear any signs of the Prince leaving…

 

But he heard nothing.

 

With a sigh, he let his head fall back against the tree. This was going to take a while.

 

Several minutes passed and Gladio wished he had brought a book with him. He occupied himself with a mundane game that came with his phone-- King’s Knight  _ apparently _ required a data connection. A splashing noise caught his attention and he lowered his phone, squinting back into the fog. That sounded like Noct hooking a fish…

 

“...what the--?! WHOA!!” That didn’t sound good-- “Gladio--!!”

 

An even louder splash echoed, and Gladio was vaulting down the path with his sword slung over his back, phone discarded by the gear. He stopped at the edge, scanning the depths. Noctis was no longer on the dock; he was nowhere to be seen on shore. That could only mean one thing... 

 

He ran to the edge of the dock and hastily searched the water. It took him seconds to find what he was looking for--bubbles.

 

“Shit!”

 

Letting his weapon return, he ripped off his shirt and dove into the murky water. Beneath the surface, he finally saw what he was dealing with.

 

Noctis was surrounded by sahagins; he had daggers in his hands, slashing every direction, but landing no hits. In the water, the beasts had the clear advantage. Red floated in the water around him...he’d been injured somewhere. Gladio’s brain went into overdrive; his weapon would be too cumbersome underwater, he had to do without. Using the momentum from his dive, he swam for the beast that was about to dig its teeth into the Prince. He hit the sahagin full in the side, knocking it off course. Noctis swirled in the water, eyes wide with surprise. He shared a look with his Shield for a second before hastily handing Gladio a dagger. They would have to fight their way out, and quickly. They wouldn’t be able to hold their breaths much longer.

 

Using the opening that Gladio’s arrival had created, Noctis swam as hard as he could towards the surface. Gladio noticed he could only use one leg, which explained the blood. He followed Noct as best as he could, swinging the dagger at the aquatic beasts when they got too close. Most of them didn’t seem to want a difficult meal and were losing interest, but a few looked hungrier than the rest and kept pursuing.

 

Ahead of him, he saw Noctis break the surface after some desperate swimming. His own lungs were burning from the lack of air, but they had almost made it… Almost.

 

He felt the force before he saw it. A bigger, older, clearly sneakier sahagin rammed into his side, sending him tumbling back towards the others. The force from the blow startled him into taking a breath and water flooded his nose and mouth. Panic started to set in; there was no way he was going to stay conscious if he had already inhaled water, plus now he was staring down what was clearly the alpha of the pack… how had they not noticed these guys?! The dagger had been knocked from his hand, and he knew. He knew this was where he was going to die. Well, he was going to go down fighting at least.

 

The sahagins rushed him, and Gladio braced himself, but a bright light cut through the water, distracting him… he looked up. The Shield’s eyes widened.

 

He saw bright, crackling light. Then he felt pain. And then it all went dark.

 

\---

 

Noctis gasped with effort and pain as he dragged Gladio’s form out of the water. His leg was burning and he didn’t even want to think about how it looked. His first concern was to make sure he hadn’t just accidentally killed his friend.

 

He dropped next to his knees next to Gladio, his hands hovering in uncertainty. He knew Ignis had taught him what to do in this situation, but his panicking brain wouldn’t let him remember.

 

Noctis couldn’t believe he had summoned Ramuh with his friend still submerged. But, like he had been since the first sahagin had snatched him by the leg off the dock, he panicked… and apparently that was enough. The sahagins were dead, and Gladio probably was too…!

 

He shook his head hard. He couldn’t let this stop him, he had to think. What was it…? He had to check if he was breathing… nope, definitely not breathing. Then was it… chest compressions? Right, then mouth to mouth. Gross… but that didn’t matter.

 

Noctis desperately started trying to revive his friend, his memory jogging as he performed the action. He ignored his own injury, knowing that the time to fix it with potions was running out, but he didn’t care. He had to bring him back…!

 

After about three or four desperate minutes, Noctis sat back on his heels with a panicked sob. It wasn’t working…! He didn’t know if he was doing it right, but he was trying! He buried his hands in his hair and pulled, breathing escalating. There had to be something… something!

 

He gasped. Of course, why didn’t he think of this sooner…? He shoved his hands into his pockets and pulled out a sodden feather. It was a bit worn around the edges from the water, but it should have still been functional. The Prince scrambled for Gladio’s limp hand and wrapped the feather in his fingers, crushing it. Light flooded the Shield’s body, and Noct held his breath.

 

Seconds passed, and just as Noctis was about to give up hope, Gladio’s eyes shot open. He scrambled to try and roll to his side and Noctis gave him a push to help as he started to retch water.

 

“Gladio…!!”

 

The Prince crawled closer, patting him on the back to try and ease the retching and coughing. The shield’s arms were shaking once he could catch his breath, and he fell face first back onto the ground, panting. Noctis hovered, “Are… Are you alright?”

 

Gladio turned an eye to him, chest still heaving, “Am I… alright…” he lifted up on his elbows, teeth grinding, “Just… peachy… after you  _ almost killed me _ !” The angered screech had him hacking again, dislodging more water.

 

Noctis deflated, “I-I’m sorry… I panicked, I… I shouldn’t have…”

 

Gladio put up a hand, stopping the Prince. Noctis’ mouth closed with an audible ‘clack’ and Gladiolus fell back down, rolling onto his side with his eyes shut, “Gimme… sec… hah…” After a few minutes of trying to get his breathing under control, Gladio sat up, “We’ll… We’ll talk about this later,” he looked at Noctis, “...You… alright, Highness?”

 

Startled, Noct sat up straight. His leg throbbed, reminding him of his own injury, and he cringed. He shifted until he could get a look at the bite and he paled. It was… gruesome to say the least. And now that he was looking at it properly, and the adrenaline was wearing off, it was starting to  _ hurt _ properly as well. He grunted as the pain flooded over him and he gripped at his knee, “I… I don’t think so…!”

 

Gladio cringed at the wound; it looked like the sahagin had done quite a number. He was frankly amazed Noct had been able to pull him from the water. He looked at the prince, “How long’s it been? If… If you can still use a curative, use it now.”

 

Noctis nodded, “Think… it hasn’t been too long…” He reached into his pocket again digging desperately for the familiar shape. His fingers wrapped around it and he hastily pulled it free, crushing it in the process. The healing glow flooded through his body, and he grimaced as the muscles in his leg began to repair. He sighed with relief and let his forehead rest on his knee, “Thank the Six…”

 

“Damn right, that would’ve been nasty if it had gotten infected,” Gladio offered. He looked at the remains of the phoenix down in his fingers. They had so few of those already, Noct must have really been desperate… he couldn’t stay too mad over what happened knowing that. He sighed, but grimaced when a sharp pain flared in his chest, “Shit… ow… damn, those things must’ve done a number on me… can’t breathe too deep.”

 

Noctis looked sheepish, “That… may have been me. I tried to do CPR before I used the phoenix down, so…” his eyes turned downcast, “I don’t think I did it right.”

 

“No, actually… that’s not uncommon,” Gladio grimaced again. Yeah, that felt like a broken bone… “Do you have any other curatives? That should fix it.”

 

Noctis nodded and dug in his pockets again, but he turned up empty, “...oh, I only had the one…” At Gladio’s withering expression, he frowned, “I didn’t think I would need to bring more, alright?! And yours are probably ruined…”

 

“Yeah, they are.” He confirmed, taking the remains of an elixir out of his pocket, likely destroyed from Ramuh’s electricity. With his hopes for a quick recovery dashed, he rolled to his feet with a groan. Noctis scrambled up to support him when he wobbled; the rib that Noct broke was more painful than he thought and it almost brought him back down, “I'm alright, I'm alright,” he gasped at the prince, trying to reassure him, “Just hurt more than I expected. Let's… let's get back to camp. Iggy’s gonna kill us.” he started back towards the slope through the now lifting fog. He couldn't even begin to guess what time it was.

 

“Here,” Noctis slipped under the shield’s arm, “Lean on me-- don't argue, or I'll make it an order.”

 

Gladio’s mouth shut, effectively cutting off the complaint that was on the tip of his tongue,  “Yessir.” His voice was laced with amusement, “But only if I have to.”

 

Noctis huffed, a small smile on his lips, “Fine. I can take that compromise.”

 

They started back towards camp, passing the gear Gladio had left. The shield paused, “Grab my phone, will ya? Should be around here somewhere.”

 

“What about the rest of our gear?” Noctis looked back towards his abandoned rod wistfully.

 

“We can come back for it later, it's not gonna go anywhere,” Gladio scanned the ground, “It's over there, grab it for me?”

 

“I wonder if mine still works…” the prince handed off the device to his Shield.

 

“You might have to put it in some rice and hope for the best.”

 

Noctis groaned.

 

\---

 

To say that Ignis was angry was putting it mildly. Ignis had long surpassed angry and had gone straight into absolutely fucking  _ hysterical _ . As soon as they cleared the entrance of the fishing grotto Gladio’s phone positively exploded with notifications. He scrambled to remove it from his pocket just in time to receive a phone call from the advisor himself. He barely had a chance to glance at the notifications, but what he saw were all missed calls, all from Ignis. He braced himself, “Yeah?”

 

“Where are you?” the edge on Ignis’ normally calm tone made even him wince.

 

“We're just leaving the fishing spot, Iggy, we’ll be--” Gladio tried to explain, but was cut off.

 

“Do you know what time it is?” Gladio could tell the question was rhetorical so he kept quiet, “You were due back two hours ago.”

 

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Noctis cringe. He wanted to cringe, too. He sighed, but it was cut short with a grunt when his rib reminded him of why that was a bad idea. Gladio swore he could  _ hear _ Ignis’ eyes narrowing on the other end of the line, “Ignis--”

 

“What happened.” Damn this man and his perceptiveness. That wasn't even a question, it was a demand. He wasn't going to be able to play this one down at all.

 

Reluctantly, he answered, “There… was a bit of an incident.” he paused, listening to the tense silence on the other end. He let out a groan, “Look, can we just explain when we get back to camp? I'm not gonna lie, I'm in pretty rough shape, and I'd like to save my energy for walking, alright?”

 

The silence continued. Just as Gladio was about to check if he had been disconnected, Ignis spoke, “Is Noctis safe?”

 

Gladio huffed a short, painful laugh, “A little waterlogged, but he's just fine.” He could feel the relief from the other man. He glanced at Noctis, who had been rather quiet this whole time. He saw him looking off ahead, guilt etched into his face. His heart ached, “Hey, Iggy.”

 

“What?”

 

Gladio cleared his throat, “Mind giving us a lift?”

 

A soft chuckle filtered through the line, “Get to the road, we’ll meet you there.”

 

\---

 

Gladiolus and Noctis hadn't gone terribly far to fish; By foot, it had taken them just a bit longer than thirty minutes to get to the grotto. Despite that, Gladio was thrilled when Ignis and Prompto met them at the nearest stretch of pavement. Just the walk there had caused the shield some considerable pain, though he’d done his best to make sure it hadn't  shown too much. 

 

Prompto was the first one out of the Regalia, rushing to Gladio’s side opposite of Noctis and helping to support him, “Wow, you guys are drenched! And where’s your shirt, Gladio?”

 

“Dunno. Took it off when I dove in the water,” Gladio muttered, “Didn’t think it was that important, so I didn’t look for it.” Ignis was holding the door of the Regalia open for him, and he eased down into the back seat with the others’ help. The roof was up, and the stretch to get himself into the seat drew a pained groan from the shield.

 

“I'm assuming you abandoned the gear to avoid possible enemies?” Ignis asked from the driver's seat. The Regalia thrummed as he shifted gears, taking them back towards camp. Prompto turned in his seat to watch the bedraggled pair, concern in his blue eyes.

 

Noctis shook his head, “No, we couldn't carry all of it with Gladio injured. We decided to come back for it later.”

 

Ignis nodded, “A wise choice. We can come back in the morning.” His eyes drifted to Gladio in the rearview. He took in the way the larger man was breathing shallowly and the hand pressed to his rib cage, “I still want an explanation.”

 

Gladio nodded, “‘course.” He looked out the car window as they pulled up as close to the haven as they could get, “Once we get to camp we’ll give you a rundown.”

 

About thirty minutes later--once everything had been said and done with Gladio settled into a camping chair with an ice pack, a change of clothes, and a potion for pain relief-- Ignis mulled over what he had just been told.

 

He thought he had been furious earlier. Now he was livid.

 

But no matter how hard he tried to stay angry, the feeling faded. He leaned back into his own chair, letting out a long sigh from his nose and crossing his arms. Noctis sat across the fire, next to Prompto; Ignis watched him tense in response to the sound. He'd spoken only when it came to his part of the incident, content to let Gladio explain what he could. He’d kept a stony face, but his clipped tone and averted gaze gave away the guilt he felt. Yes, Ignis was not pleased with how the Prince had handled the situation, but…

 

Would the outcome really have been any better if he  _ had _ reacted differently?

 

“Noctis.” The prince looked towards Ignis, away from Prompto’s camera; They must have been going through today's photos. Ignis thought carefully on his next words, “In the future, let's take more care to  _ not _ catch our comrades in the cosmic backlash, shall we?” Noctis’ eyes widened, “Ramuh normally wouldn't have caused any harm to us, but it sounds like it was the pond that conducted the electricity that did the deed.”

 

“You're… not mad?” The Prince was staring at Ignis, voice subdued.

 

Ignis smiled, though it was conflicted, “I'm not pleased… but, I believe that Gladio’s fate was going to be rather dismal no matter the outcome. While not the ideal choice, it still saved his life, in the end.” Ignis leaned forward and met eyes with the Prince, “You needn't feel guilty for that.”

 

Noctis’ eyes glimmered suspiciously in the firelight and he had to turn his head back towards Prompto. His hand came up to swipe at his face, “...I won't.”

 

Ignis’ smile softened and he stood, “Well, I’ll whip something up for dinner, then we can all get some rest. You two need it.”

 

The soft sounds of Ignis cooking filled the haven, and the two boys started discussing the photos again with some minor ribbing from the blonde on Noctis’ behalf. Gladio smiled and closed his eyes, relaxing into his chair. The ice was making his ribs hurt less, and before he knew it he was dozing lightly until a bowl of food was nudged into his hands. He accepted it with gruff thanks…

 

In that moment, he truly felt like everything was gonna be just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> hey im also on tumblr at constantconfuse soooo come hmu if you wanna say hi :D
> 
> here's hoping i finish the next part sob


End file.
